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Rapides prepping for state tests

Meredith Rhoads (far right), elementary math curriculum specialist for the Rapides school district, goves over a breakdown of the first phase of PARCC testing, which will take place in March, during a test-prep night for parents at Cherokee Elementary School on Tuesday. PARCC is the Common Core-aligned standardized test for math and English language arts that will be administered across Louisiana public schools for the first time this year.(Photo: Leigh Guidry/lguidry@thetowntalk.com)

Students and parents in Central Louisiana are preparing for standardized testing, which will look a little different this year.

Grades three through eight begin three separate tests this spring with phase 1 of the PARCC — Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers — in March.

The state Department of Education does not have a contract with test publisher Pearson and is using Data Recognition Corp, which has had contracts with DOE for years. Some have described the test to be administered this spring as "PARCC-like," but Kim Bennett, deputy assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Rapides, said it is the same test given across the country.

"This is the PARCC that is administered nation-wide," Bennett said, comparing DRC's role to that of a middleman. "DRC takes the test, distributes it to schools, gets it back and disaggregates the data. ... DRC is the same company that does the LEAP."

This is Louisiana's first year to use Common Core-aligned tests for math and English language arts, and some Rapides schools are offering test-prep nights for parents. Cherokee Elementary's library was full of parents seeking info about the upcoming test on Tuesday night.

Meredith Rhoads, elementary math curriculum specialist for the district, and other district and school personnel provided information on PARCC and a list of websites that offer practice items and test-prep games.

One parent said she attended to get information as well as show her support.

"I wanted to show support for the teachers," said Laurah Gray, the mother of a fourth-grader at the school. "We've got to do this together. Whether we like (the test or curriculum) or not, we're doing this together."

That seemed to be the theme of the presentation.

"It's a learning year for us as it is for y'all," Cherokee Principal Bonnie Lord said.

Rhoads said the district is following state guidelines in administering the test that was field tested last year across the state, including some Rapides schools.

"So we know a little what it will look like," Rhoads said.

She said Louisiana teachers had input in the making of the test, which is to be given nationally.

Louisiana students will take the PARCC test on paper this year rather than on computer and in two parts. The first phase is the performance-based assessment March 16-20. The timed tests for math and ELA will consist of multiple choice, multiple select — must choose two or more correct answers — and fill in a blank grid as well as questions requiring written explanations.

"This is stuff your kids are going over in their class," Rhoads said, showing parents some examples. "...Your children are practicing in class. We just want you to be aware of this."

She provided handouts with required knowledge for certain grade levels for the test. There also are websites and games parents and students can play to prepare for PARCC. Practice items are available on the state Department of Education website.

"These are things you can go over with them," she said.

No dictionaries or thesauruses can be used during the ELA portion, but misspellings will not be counted against students. No calculators are allowed for elementary students.

Math and ELA will be tested through PARCC. Science and social studies remain under LEAP and iLEAP, which will be given in April. Students will take the end-of-year portion, or phase two, of PARCC in May.

Meredith Rhoads (far right), elementary math curriculum specialist for the Rapides school district, discusses PARCC testing to begin in March during a test-prep night for parents at Cherokee Elementary School on Tuesday. PARCC is the Common Core-aligned standardized test for math and English language arts that will be administered across Louisiana public schools for the first time this year.(Photo: Leigh Guidry/lguidry@thetowntalk.com)

Differences students can expect with PARCC are bubbling in answers in the same booklet rather than in a separate one from the test and seeing multiple-choice and writing questions on the same day. Previous standardized testing called for separate sections on separate days.

Parents at Cherokee plan to take advantage of the practice tools before testing week rolls around. James Johnson said he and his fifth-grade daughter will work on them together.

Rosalyn Cole said she sees the practice tests as an opportunity to help her fifth-grade daughter catch up before the test. Cole and her family moved to the state from Oklahoma last week.

"I need to know exactly what she's missing so I can work with her," Cole said. "I don't think she'll have a problem catching up. We'll get it."

But some parents are considering opting out of testing. An opt-out letter is being circulated among some local parents who oppose Common Core and PARCC.

The trend follows in other parts of the state as well. The Lafayette Parish School System has received word from one family that will not allow its children to take standardized tests this spring.

School officials are expecting a "flood" of similar refusals in the coming weeks, said Tom Spencer, the district's accountability director.

Erin May, a Lafayette mother of three, cited "over-testing" as a factor in her refusal to allow her fifth-grader and sixth-grader to test. The testing does not apply to her oldest child, a high school freshman.

"First of all, our children are over-tested, so there was going to be a time I put my foot down," said May, who also teaches kindergarten in the Lafayette Parish School System. "When I saw the sample questions for the PARCC tests, I realized this was the time to put my foot down.

"What I saw were questions that were so complexly phrased that I am not sure that I understood what they were asking me to do," May continued. "I'm not willing to put my children in a situation where they are going to feel like they are less than smart, or less than adequate, because they can't understand the question, much less come to an answer."

When a parent refuses to let a student take a standardized test, the school must record a zero for that student, Spencer said. If enough students are opted-out, those zeros can add up to lower scores for schools, the district and teachers, Lafayette district officials said.